The Language and Literacy Block is an attempt to improve the preparation of elementary teachers to teach literacy. It is a component of a year-long preservice teacher education program that is a collaborative enterprise between the University of Illinois and a local school district. Some key features of the Language and Literacy Block include: (1) joint planning and implementation by university and school faculty; (2) an integrated approach to teaching language by combining reading methods, language arts methods, and children's literature; and (3) situated learning to teach literacy, partially accomplished through the use of videotaped student lessons. (Author/RS)